Course description: The central philosophical claim of Heidegger’s mature early work is the thesis that the meaning (or sense) of being is time. This seminar will focus on Heidegger’s uncompleted attempt to develop and defend this thesis in Division II of Being and Time and Part Two of The Basic Problems of Phenomenology.

Fall 2009

(This is a preliminary list and is subject to change. Please consult with your advisor before making any plans that could affect graduation.) See also this spreadsheet, which contains course times and locations.

Graduate Courses:

Philosophy 283: Contemporary Philosophy: Wittgenstein’s On Certainty (Instructors: H. Wettstein and L. Wright; Mondays 1:10–4:00pm). A close textual analysis, with much discussion, of Wittgenstein’s classic work on epistemology, On Certainty. We will work through this difficult and very rich text together, and we will introduce a number of supplementary readings when these are relevant. Join us. This promises to be much fun and very enlightening. Requirements are a paper at the end, with topics approved during the second half of the course.

Philosophy 283: Contemporary Philosophy: Caring and Practical Reasoning (Instructor: A. Jaworska; Thursdays 3:40–630pm). What is it to care about something? How is caring related to desiring? To the emotions? To having policies? What is the relation between caring and the will? Do we have reasons for caring about things? Do we have reason to pursue what we care about? Can attention to caring help explain the phenomenon of “silencing” reasons? Readings from contemporary literature, including some or all of the following: Frankfurt, Watson, Bratman, Scanlon, Raz, Williams, Helm, Seidman, Kolodny. Gary Watson will be attending several of the sessions and Jeff Seidman will be at the session on his work.

Course Description: We will read selections from the Prolegomena and all six of Husserl’s Logical Investigations. This work, composed during the 1890’s, with significant revisions to subsequent editions during the next two decades, occupies a uniquely important place in the philosophy of the last hundred years. Written in an intellectual environment shared with Frege, Russell and early “analytic” philosophy, it transformed the “descriptive psychology” of Brentano and his school into a “phenomenology” that greatly (and diversely) influenced the generation of German-speaking philosophers that came of age in its wake, notably including Heidegger. Heidegger himself claimed that Being and Time would not have been possible without the Logical Investigations. The Investigations and the phenomenological approach to philosophy that they opened up were also tremendously influential on French existentialist philosophy (Jean-Paul Sartre reportedly “turned pale with emotion” when Raymond Aron first described Husserl’s phenomenology to him). Understanding Husserl’s Investigations thus seems very valuable to understanding the directions philosophy took in the twentieth century. Its study also promises to enrich our understanding of issues in contemporary philosophy of mind and language, as issues that preoccupied Husserl lately seem to have come to increasing prominence in the tradition that traces itself back to Frege and Russell (but which, by mid-century, became estranged from the work of self-identified phenomenologists). For central both to Husserl’s Investigations and current philosophy of mind and language are basic questions about how best to conceive of: the relationship of psychology to logic and philosophy; the content of language, thought and perception; and consciousness and its relation to intentionality, self-consciousness, knowledge, and truth.

Upper Division Courses:

Philosophy 100: Philosophy of the Emotions (Instructor: A. Jaworska) — What is an emotion? Can emotions be reduced to complexes of other mental states, such as beliefs, desires, and bodily sensations? Are emotions beneficial aspects of our mental lives, or might we be better off without them? If they are beneficial, what contributions do they make? Are emotions in some sense commitments to the world’s being a certain way, or are they more like mere appearances? How can we understand the (rational? causal?) interconnections between emotions and other mental states like beliefs and desires?

Philosophy 122e: Ancient Philosophy (Instructor: D. Glidden) — This upper division course on the history of ancient philosophy focuses on late Stoicism—a philosophy that emphasized philosophy as a way of life. We will be reading Epictetus’ Discourses and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. We shall also study a contemporary book on practicing Stoicism in America today. Students will be invited to try out the practice of Stoicism themselves and report results in class. They will be challenged to adopt some sort of philosophy as a way of life they live, not merely study. In keeping with our orientation of philosophical practices, we shall have class discussions and debates on the savory and unsavory aspects of Stoic asceticism and cosmopolitanism. We shall connect what we are reading with snippets from films that address anti-Stoic and also proto-Stoic themes regarding alienation, individualism, the suppression of emotions, which Stoic philosophy especially emphasized, as well as becoming a global citizen. Students will be writing a term paper on the topic, based on readings, class presentations, and blackboard discussions. The term paper preparation will require prior submission of topic outlines and drafts of the final paper. There will also be two quizzes on the readings and classroom presentations. As is customary in upper division philosophy courses, there will be no final exam. The emphasis is on the term paper.

Philosophy 124: Formal Logic (Instructor: M. Nelson)

Philosophy 144: Advanced Topics in Philosophy of Mind: Mind, Consciousness, and Embodiment (Instructor: C. Siewert) — We will start by reviewing some basic ideas and controversies about consciousness (as discussed in Alter and Howell’s Dialogue on Consciousness). Then we’ll read and critically discuss two books (one by Alva Noë, one by Andy Clark) reflecting recent interest in “embodied cognition.” On views like Noë’s and Clark’s, we shouldn’t think of the mind as somehow entirely contained in the brain, and separable from a body that it “controls,” since appropriate forms of whole bodily interaction with one’s environment are essentially involved in consciousness or mental life. We will have a look at these claims (and the disagreements between Noë and Clark), and consider their implications for our conceptions of ourselves. How and where do we draw a boundary between self and environment? What would such views tell us about the nature of consciousness, understanding, or intelligence, and what it would take to produce these artificially? Finally, we will consider Hubert Dreyfus’ argument that increased reliance on communication via the Internet and fascination with virtual reality promotes a troubling neglect of embodied human understanding and interaction.

Philosophy 161: Ethics (Instructor: A. Jaworska) — What is the basis of our moral judgments? What makes right actions right, and wrong actions wrong? What makes a state of affairs good or worth promoting? Is there a conflict between a good life and a moral life? The answers to such classic questions in ethics are examined through the works of traditional and contemporary authors.

Philosophy 169i: Topics in Value Theory (Instructor: D. Glidden) — This social philosophy course is focused on the topic of illegal immigration. Students will be invited to address the relevant moral issues involved: ranging from the authority of law and the principles of justice to the morality of compassion and universal human rights. The course will involve extensive discussion, small group debates, extensive media presentations using snippets from an assortment of films. Students will be writing a term paper on the topic, based on readings, class presentations, and blackboard discussions. The term paper preparation will require prior submission of topic outlines and drafts of the final paper. There will also be two quizzes on the readings and classroom presentations. As is customary in upper division philosophy courses, there will be no final exam. The emphasis is on the term paper.

Law and Society Courses:

Law and Society 193: Senior Seminar in Law and Society (Instructor: C. Cranor)

Graduate Courses:

Philosophy 281: Philosophical Texts (Instructor: M. Wrathall) — I will be teaching Heidegger’s Being and Time, one of the seminal works of 20th century philosophy. We will review Heidegger’s account of the main structural features of human existence (understanding, mood, involvement in activities, being-in-the-world, etc.), his views on truth, death, guilt and time, and his analysis of everyday banalized forms of existence versus authentic resolute existence.

Philosophy 283: Contemporary Philosophy (Instructor: C. Macnamara) — In this course we will explore the nature of praise and blame. More specifically, we will examine the nature of the reactive attitudes in both their expressed and unexpressed forms and consider the relationship between blame and punishment on the one hand and praise and reward on the other. We will take an especially close look at communicative theories of praise and blame, deploying tools from speech act theory to illuminate the nature of these activities. Readings will include Strawson’s “Freedom and Resentment,” Duff’s A Communicative Theory of Punishment, Scanlon’s Moral Dimensions, and Wallace’s Responsibility and the Moral Sentiments.

Philosophy 283: Contemporary Philosophy (Instructors: J. Perry and R. Jeshion) — In this seminar we will look at some of the classic texts in Pragmatics by Grice, Austin, Searle, etc. and then develop some of our own ideas.

Also:

Philosophy 270: Philosophy Colloquia (Instructor: M. Wrathall)

Philosophy 400: Research and Professional Development Workshop (Instructor: R. Jeshion)

Also:

Philosophy 400: Research and Professional Development Workshop (Instructor: occasional Wednesdays 3:10–5:00pm)

Winter 2011

(This is a preliminary list and is subject to change. Please consult with your advisor before making any plans that could affect graduation.) See also this spreadsheet, which contains course times and locations

Also:

Philosophy 400: Research and Professional Development Workshop (Instructor: occasional Wednesdays 3:10–5:00pm)

Spring 2011

(This is a preliminary list and is subject to change. Please consult with your advisor before making any plans that could affect graduation.) See also this spreadsheet, which contains course times and locations.

FACULTY PROFILE

Mark Wrathall’s research focuses on the existential and phenomenological traditions in philosophy. He is particularly interested in phenomenological accounts of perception, language, art, religion, and law. Wrathall is currently working on a book-length manuscript on Heidegger’s later work, and editing The Cambridge Companion to Heidegger’s Being and Time.

NEWS

Dear Colleagues, I am saddened to inform you that Bernd Magnus, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, passed away on November 3, 2014, at the age of 76. He was a long-time member of UCR’s Philosophy Department, serving as its Chair from 1972 to 1976 and, again, from 1979 to 1983. Born in Danzig, Germany, Prof. Magnus […]

Professor Mark Wrathall has been awarded a faculty fellowship from The Templeton Foundation for his research titled “The Philosophy and Theology of Immortality.” He will be on fellowship for the 2014-15 academic year at Christ Church, Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Congratulations to Professor Mark Wrathall!